November 15, 2017 at 7:00 PM - Board of Education Regular Meeting

President Gould called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and the Pledge of Allegiance was said.

Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Urbom to excuse the absence of Scott Black who was out of town.  RCV 5-0.

President Gould reminded the audience that the Open Meeting Laws are displayed in the back of the room for their review.

Motion by Urbom, second by Springer to approve the consent agenda as presented, regular meeting minutes of October 11, 2017, Financial Statement and monthly bills as presented.  RCV 5-0.

Thank you to our local Legion Posts who participated in the Veteran Day assemblies and posting colors, and all who were involved for their efforts in helping us observe this important day. 

There were no public forum speakers.

The purpose of the annual audit is to review the financial performance of Raymond Central School District No. 161 and provide an overview of the District's financial activities for the year that ended August 31st, 2017. Overall we were compliant on each component of the audit.

Submitted by Kolin Haecker, High School Principal/Curriculum Director

     Seniors are continuing to work on graduation requirements. Juniors took the ASVAB test in the new gym November 9 and are completing their job shadow on November 15. 

     The high school choir and the junior high music students performed in a music concert held at the high school on October 23. The students’ performance was very entertaining and it was well attended by parents and grandparents. Great job Mr. Luke, Mr. Strouf, Mrs. Curtright and students.

     The high school choir participated in the Conference Choral clinic on November 6 at Platteview High School. Grades 7-12 will be performing at the Vocal and Instrumental Concert on December 12 at 6:30. K-2 students and 5-6 band students will be performing on December 5 at 6:30.

     Mr. Luke will be coordinating the Veteran’s Day Assembly on November 10 to be enjoyed by staff, students, and guests. Band students will perform patriotic music during the program. Thanks to members of the National Honor Society for greeting our guests and helping serve refreshments. We also thank those who have served our country.

     The varsity Speech team will compete in Papillion on Saturday, November 11. Junior high boys basketball started practice the end of October, and will be hosting their first tournament at Raymond Central on Saturday, November 18. Monday, November 13 is the start of basketball & wrestling practice. 

     FFA National Convention: National Outstanding Chapter Award-2 stars (out of 3 stars); Outstanding Alumni Region 2-Top six in the Nation; American Degrees-Hannah Settje, Josh Hornung, Nick Nelson; Goat Proficiency Bronze Award-Gabby Soden.  Members that attended were Duke Nelson, Taylor Nelson, Logon Marshalek, Emmett Hughes, Kody Swartz, Brady Nelson, Jack Nelson, Isaac White, Skylar Sterns Miranda Hornung, Ashley Heyen, Allissa Turnwall, Leah Bos, Amanda Gyhra Ellissa Fredrickson, Helen Andelt, Mary Andelt and Kailsay Stearns.

     The Red Cross bloodmobile will be here on November 10 for our students and staff to donate. The school will receive money for scholarships with every successful donation given on this day by students and staff.

     The FBLA organization provided a breakfast for the business community in Valparaiso on November 7, and November 9 in Ceresco. Thanks to the FBLA chapter for this continued gesture.

     Karen Haase, a lawyer with KSB, will be at Raymond Central to present to our students regarding Digital Citizenship on November 28.

     November 2 we had Professional Development for K-12 staff developing SMART goals in their Professional Learning Community.  Tasha Osten and I will be attending an ACT Test Meeting in Lincoln on November 17. We will learn about any changes in procedures in administering the test. Juniors will be taking the ACT Test at RC. We will be scheduling the 9th and 10th graders for their college visit. Seniors will go on their one day senior trip on April 3. 

     Cailyn Johnson, Jill Huck, Megan Brown, Stacey Doan and myself attended the Ed Tech Conference in Kearney on November 3. A very good conference with a great speaker and many sessions on using technology. 

Submitted by Greg Wilmes, Activities Director/Assistant Principal

     Football finished the season with a 1-8 record after losses to Fairbury and Ashland Greenwood. Special thanks to senior football players for their efforts in their careers, and to the coaching staff on their work with the boys this fall. Receiving post-season honors were: Jackson Fowler, Jett Burklund and Dylan Thornburg, each all-district and all-state honorable mention. JH football finished the season at 5-1 on the season.

     Volleyball finished out their season with losses at home to Lincoln Christian and Louisville. They traveled to Pius on October 30 and lost in the first round of sub-districts to Milford. Their final record was 4-22. Receiving post-season honors was Kelbie Schnieder and Madison Stover with all-conference honorable mention.

     The Class D-1 subdistrict we hosted on October 30 and 31 went well with Lourdes Central Catholic coming out on top. Lots of 5 set matches!

     Raymond Central has not only hosted district softball and volleyball so far, but we have also been selected to host district speech, as well as D1 girls and boys sub-district basketball.

     Rylee Haecker qualified for state in cross country after earning 15th place at districts in Minden. She ran well at state but was unable to come home with a medal.

     Earning post-season honors for softball include the following all-conference winners: 1st team - Alex Hanson, Morgan Potter; 2nd team - Peyton Taylor and Amanda Gyhra; Honorable Mention - Cicely Pickel. Omana World Herald recognized: 1st team - Alex Hanson; 2nd team - Morgan Potter ; Honorable Mention - Peyton Taylor, Amanda Gyhra and Cicely Pickel. Lincoln Journal Star recognized: 1st team - Alex Hanson; 2nd team - Morgan Potter;  Honorable Mention - Peyton Taylor, Amanda Gyhra and Cicely Pickel. All Area: 1st team - Alex Hanson, Morgan Potter and Amanda Gyhra.

     Mock Trial has competed on October 30 and November 9 and will have one more on November 13. They will get more results from their competitions at the Lincoln Courthouse on the 13th. Mr. Strouf has six participants.

     Speech had their first meet of the year on November 3 at Millard North, and their next meet will be November 11 at Papillion-La Vista High School.

     Conference choir was November 6 at Platteview with over 25 students from Raymond Central participating.

     Junior high boys basketball has been practicing now for over two weeks and will start their season on November 14 at DC West, November 16 hosting Yutan, and on November 18 hosting a 7th grade tourney. They currently have 19 boys on the team.

Some important dates coming up:

First day of winter practice: Monday, November 13

Fall Athletic sports banquet: Friday, November 17 at 6:30 pm in commons

Conference One-Act: Monday, November 20 at Platteview

First day of winter competition: Thursday, November 30

District One-Act: Friday, December 1 at Milford

State One-Act: Friday December 8 at Norfolk

Submitted by  Shelly Dostal, Elementary Principal at Valparaiso/K-5 Curriculum Director

     Parent-Teacher Conferences were held on October 18 and 19 with 99% overall conference turnout. We appreciate parents showing their support of their children’s education. The on-line sign up worked well for most families.

     Survey data from teachers and students is being collected and will be analyzed by the AdvancED/School Improvement group. When the committee met on November 7, they also gave feedback to administrators about the professional development time and the next steps needed for our study of differentiation.

     Curriculum/Instruction/Assessment - NeSA data is still embargoed. Public release is scheduled for early December.

     Elementary teachers continue to meet about every 4-5 weeks to work with each other and ESU#2 staff with the new English Language Arts curriculum and standards.

     Dr. Gary Nunnally presented to the staff on October 16, focusing on a definitional investigation about differentiation. We will meet again on November 15 to continue our learning about differentiation. ESU#2 Special Education Director Dan Bombeck also presented on October 16 about special education issues.

     Many thanks to the PTO for the meals provided for staff during parent-teacher conference nights. Family Game Night was well attended in Valparaiso on October 12. Dodgeball was very popular! The PTO hosted a wonderful Multicultural Night on November 3. Special thanks to Maureen Brase-Houchin for her leadership in the event. The cookie dough sales will start November 13 with delivery scheduled for December 14 during the Holiday Shoppe. Proceeds will be used to support class field trips. The annual Holiday Shoppe will be held on December 14. PTO has partnered with local businesses to earn a percentage of their sales for patronizing on a given night. Runza night was held October 24 and Culver’s night will be November 14. Thank you to all who participate and to the restaurants for their donations.

     Red Ribbon Week was promoted during the last week of October. The theme for the week was "Your future is key, so stay drug free!" Each day the students were encouraged to make positive and healthy choices by promoting an activity like "Follow your dreams" and wear pajamas.

     Kristine White and Student Council representatives attended the Student Leadership Conference at Doane University on October 17. They attended sessions centered on being a leader and making positive choices. Student Council representatives attending the event from Valparaiso were: Erika Donahue, Brooke Munford, Caleb Redstrom, Khloe Cuttlers, Carter Leise, and Drew Tice.

     Halloween Parties were held on October 31. Thanks to all the room parents for helping with the parties.

     Special thanks to Mr. Liess for planning the Annual Turkey Trot. Students in grades 4 and 5 will trot on Thursday, November 16. Parents are invited to participate in this fitness walk/run, too.

     We will host a Veteran’s Day Assembly on November 10 honoring all who have served or are currently serving our country. Thank you to the Legion members for helping us observe this important day. Students will present during a short assembly prior to our Grandparent/Special Person Day following the assembly. We plan to host about 250 visitors in classrooms. Thank you to teachers for leading special activities and the PTO for providing supplies and treats. Kudos to our student council members for assisting with our visitors, too.

     The K-2 Winter Concert is planned for December 5 at 6:30 pm. The 5th and 6th grade bands will also perform. Please join us if you can.

     Thank you to all who participated in the RC Food Bank BackPack Program Run/Walk (Hustle) and pancake feed. With the many generous sponsorships, donations, and support of our community, we are able to fund the program!

Submitted by Ann Egr, Elementary Principal at Ceresco/Director of Special Education

     Parent Teacher Conferences were held October 18 and 19. Ceresco Elementary had 99% of parents attend conferences and/or reschedule a conference if they were unable to attend during the two days. 

     The Ceresco Elementary Fall Book Fair was a HUGE success!  Ceresco Elementary received $1,500 in profit to go towards the purchase of new books, supplies or accessories for the library. The students pitched in during the coin drive and raised $533. The 2nd-grade class won the school-wide incentive and was given the opportunity to throw a pie at the principal. Each classroom teacher received the money to add books to their own classroom libraries. Finally, a big shout-out to Crystal Haecker for all of her hard work in making the book fair so successful.

     PTO: Thank you so much for the fabulous meals during conferences. The wonderful things you do for our schools are greatly appreciated!

     The Student Council sponsored Red Ribbon Week October 23-27. Thanks to members, Pete Nacke, Remington Parham, Julianne Tvrdy, and Bella Thornburg for creating a public service announcement.

     Multicultural Night was a fantastic night! Thank you to Maureen Brase-Houchin and the PTO for sponsoring this event. Raymond Central is lucky to host such an educational evening.

     Once again Mr. Liess will host the annual Turkey Trot on November 15. Our fingers are crossed for a beautiful day!

     Ceresco hosted a Veterans Day observance on Friday, November 10. Thank you to Lonnie Rech and the Ceresco’s American Legion Post #244 for donating their time for this event.

     Students invited special friends to join them for Grandparents/Special Friends Day on November 10. Once again, thanks to the PTO for sponsoring this event.

     The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) will be conducting a mandatory on-site file review on December 7. NDE selects student files to be reviewed onsite and then meets with the school team to discuss findings.

     Dr. Joel and I attended the Tri-State Special Education Law Conference on November 2 and 3 held in Omaha. I attended training at the Educational Service Unit #2 concerning Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act on November 9. Karen Haase and Steve Williams with KSB School Law, were presenters.

November 15 was an early dismissal allowing all teaching staff to participate in Professional Development at 2:00 continuing to increase our knowledge base about differentiation.

     We are in the process of creating a Superintendent Advisory Committee with teachers from each of the buildings. The purpose of this group will be to discuss celebrations, concerns, upcoming events, questions, etc. from a building and district perspective. We will meet one time a month. 

     Mr. Marsh, Ms. Bastian, and Superintendent Joel met with a SOCS Representative on November 14 to discuss website options. Our current website is time consuming to manage and not user friendly for teachers and staff. SOCS is a non-profit organization that works with other non-profit organizations to develop state of the art and user friendly websites allowing customization along with a mobile app, simple content management process, local control by buildings, simple staff websites, video capability, emergency alerts, blog opportunities, and online payments through E-fund.

     Superintendent Joel has been working with Patty Hudson and Beth Knacke to gauge how much interest there is in a breakfast program at the Jr/Sr High School.

     Superintendent Joel will meet with Davis Design on November 22 at Ceresco Elementary to continue their air quality study.

     We have met with two construction companies and are waiting for their quotes on the removal of trees in and around the lagoons, scrape the sludge from lagoon #1 and create a switch and channel from the transfer box to lagoon #2.

     Chromebooks have been set up for students and they are utilizing them in numerous classes. Students are able to access some course materials at home and show parents what they are working on. 

     Mr. Rose is preparing his elementary classes to begin their coding unit where they look at website and app creation, and how coding enables all the "fun" technology we get to experience every day.

     BrightArrow, our notification system, is finalizing installation and administrators and secretaries will soon undergo training. 

     Mr. Marsh has been working with ClassLink to complete installation of the single sign-on software for students and faculty. 

Cicely Pickel reported that fall sports have ended and now girls/boys basketball and wrestling are underway with their first week of practice.  Speech has already completed two meets.  One Act will have its first showing on Monday.  Student Council hosted the blood drive and FBLA hosted breakfasts for businesses in Valparaiso and Ceresco.  Juniors have completed their job shadows.  Plans are being made to host a Parents/Peoples Prom at Starlite as a fundraiser for Post Prom.

The Superintendent 360 Evaluation was sent electronically on November 13 to a random selection of parents, students, community members and staff.  NASB will compile the data and share with the School Board to plan forward in the goal setting process.

Motion by Blanchard, second by Breitkreutz to update our Option Enrollment Policy to Option 1: Waiver unless at capacity.  RCV 4-1.

It was decided to hold the January Board of Education Meeting at the Valparaiso Elementary building and the February meeting at Ceresco Elementary.

Motion by Springer, second by Blanchard to approve Lindsay Dannelly and Monette Osten as substitute teachers, and Debbie Colgan and Katie Pierce as support staff substitutes.  RCV 5-0.

Motion by Urbom, second by Breitkreutz to surplus an 8 year old SmartBoard.  RCV 5-0.

Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Springer to approve student teacher Austin Reese with Harold Pester and Jenna Winfrey with Jill Huck (1/11-3/1/17); and Ian Meador with Nicole Hummel (1/3-4/4/17).  RCV 5-0.

Motion by Urbom, second by Gould to approve the next regular Board of Education Meeting on Wednesday, December 13 at 7:00 PM at the Jr/Sr High School.  RCV 5-0.

Motion by Breitkreutz, second by Blanchard to adjourn the meeting at 8:40 pm.  RCV 5-0.

November 15: Policy Committee Meeting @ 6:00 PM

November 15: November Board meeting

November 15-17: State Education Conference (NASB) - click for more information

November 17: Fall Sports Banquet 6:30-Meal, 7:00-Program

November 22-24: No School Thanksgiving Break

November 29: Wellness Committee Meeting @ 6:00 PM Swing Classroom

December 13: December BOE Meeting